


Not in That Way

by kikikryslee



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Aromantic, Asexual Character, Demisexuality, Fluff, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, JUST, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Pining, Platonic Soulmates, Romantic Soulmates, Sort Of, Soulmates, can you tell this is a soulmate au yet?, well demiromantic but there's not a tag for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-23 10:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14330898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikikryslee/pseuds/kikikryslee
Summary: “Surprise!” Zayn, Louis and Harry all yelled. Harry threw confetti, Louis blew into a noisemaker and Zayn tossed balloons at him.Niall stood there, taking it all in before asking, “Guys, what the actual fuck is going on?”“We’re celebrating!” Harry answered.“Celebrating what?”“That we all finally understand our sexualities. It sucks and it’s confusing and as much as we wish we could just be labeled with it at birth, so we wouldn't have to spend ages figuring it all out, that’s not how it works. So we’re celebrating the fact that we understand ourselves... Finally.”---Or, the college soulmate AU where the boys aren't straight, but the rest of their sexualities are still to be determined. And not everyone is having an easy time with that.





	Not in That Way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thepriestthinksitsthedevil (stubliminalmessaging)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stubliminalmessaging/gifts).



> Hiiiiii thepriestthinksitsthedevil (stubliminalmessaging)! So, I really hope you like this? It didn't actually follow any of your prompts besides the Larry/Ziam/aro Niall, and it mayyyy have gotten a little angstier than you were expecting but I still hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> Thank you so much to [Molly](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com/), [Melanie](http://2tiedships2.tumblr.com/) and [Brit](http://haloeverlasting.tumblr.com/) for helping me with my characterizations! And to [Caryn](https://kinglouisxxviii.tumblr.com/) and [AJ](https://agoodequaltimeinwellington.tumblr.com/) for reading over the fic and making sure it sounded good. 
> 
> This fic was my first writing a demi character, and I hope I did all of the characters justice! It was also my first time writing Ziam in any way, so I hope you like that, too! 
> 
> Anyway, I'll let you get to reading. Enjoy!

_“Mom, will you tell me a story?” a six-year-old Niall asked eagerly as he climbed into bed._

_“Sure, I can. What would you like to hear?”_

_“The soulmate one!”_

_Maura chuckled as she tucked her son in. “Again?”_

_“Yes!”_

_“OK. Once upon a time, there was a boy named Niall. And he knew that one day, he’d meet the person he was supposed to be with forever.”_

_Niall smiled as he got comfortable in bed._

_“Niall didn’t know when he would meet this person, his soulmate, but he knew she was out there, and whenever he started to have doubts, he just thought of her and thought of how wonderful it would be when they finally did find each other. He didn’t meet her in school, and he always wondered what she would be like or what she was doing. He got to college and didn’t meet her either, and then started to get frustrated. ‘Where is she?’ he would always think. But his mom told him to stop looking, and that they would meet when it was time.”_

_“And then what?” Niall asked._

_“And then, one day," Maura continued, "Niall was out with a friend of his, and he thought that he might like this girl. Little did he know, she was having the same thoughts about him. Suddenly, out of the blue, Niall felt a warm sensation in his chest, right near his heart. And he looked at his friend and saw her holding a hand to her chest at the same time as him. And he knew right then, that this girl was his soulmate, the one he was supposed to be with for the rest of his life. They started to spend more time together, and one day, they got married. And they lived happily ever after.”_

_“The end!” Niall said._

_“The end,” his mom repeated._

_Niall sighed and stared down at his hands, which lay on top of his blankets._

_“What’s wrong?”_

_“Will that really happen for me, mom?” Niall asked. “I’ll find a soulmate and I’ll be with them forever?”_

_“Of course it will.” Maura leaned forward and kissed him softly on top of his head. “Everybody has a soulmate. And you’ll find yours one day.”_

 

**Present Day**

 

“Well that was a bust,” Louis complained as he threw his jacket down on the couch.

“Louis, relax,” Zayn said, following behind. He held the door open for Niall and Harry, who were just walking into the house.

“How can you say to relax? We’ve been looking for our soulmates forever and we’ve yet to meet them.”

“Because we’re 22,” Harry said. “And three months away from graduating college. We have time.”

“But like, what is he waiting for?” Louis continued. “Like, I’ve had my big gay realization - we all have, except for Niall - so all that’s left to happen is to actually meet him. What’s taking so long?”

Louis sat down on the couch, crossing his arms in frustration.

“You’re ridiculous,” Harry said with a grin. He walked by the couch to his room, clapping Louis on the shoulder as he went.

“We’re not eighty, you know,” Zayn reminded him. “We have time to meet our men. And Niall has time to meet his woman.”

The mention of his name shook Niall out of his daze. He hadn’t been paying attention, to be honest.

“Wait, what?” Niall asked.

“I told Lou we had time to find our soulmates, and that they’d be here when it’s time.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah... Yeah, definitely...”

Louis sighed. “You guys know I’m impatient.”

He got off the couch and headed toward his room.

“We definitely know that,” Zayn muttered. He glanced at Niall, who still looked tense and asked, “You OK?”

Technically, Niall wasn’t OK. Actually, Niall had been wondering if he’d actually find his soulmate, and not in a cynical way. Lately, he’d been having some questions about himself, namely, in the romance aspect.

But he couldn’t very well tell that to Zayn since he wasn’t sure about anything at the moment.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said instead of the truth. “Just tired. And my ears are still ringing a little bit. I hate the clubs Louis drags us to.”

Zayn shrugged. “They’re not all bad.”

“No, not all of them. Watch, though, with our luck, we’ll get dragged to all of these loud clubs and we’ll wind up meeting our soulmates at like, the library or when we’re shopping or something.”

Zayn laughed. “That would be something, wouldn’t it?” As Niall headed to his room, Zayn whispered, “That might actually be something.”

\---

The next morning, Harry lay in his room, staring up at the ceiling. A car alarm had started going off a few minutes ago, and it had woken Harry up. It didn’t help that he was a light sleeper and also had the bedroom closest to the street. His roommates were probably still fast asleep.

He turned onto his side so he could get comfortable, knowing that  _if_ he could get back to sleep, it wouldn’t be for a little while.

A few minutes later, he heard his bedroom door open and felt the mattress shift behind him.

“Haz, you awake?” Louis whispered.

Harry just nodded. “If I wasn’t before, I am now.”

Louis chuckled. “Haz, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Do you think I have a soulmate?”

Harry rolled over onto his other side so he could look at Louis. “Of course you do. Why do you think you don’t?”

Louis shrugged. “I mean, Lottie already met hers. God, who meets their soulmate at 17? What the hell is that about?”

“Some people are just lucky, Lou.”

“And like, when my mom was my age, she already had me.”

“Yeah, but your dad wasn’t her soulmate,” Harry reminded him.

“Thank fuck,” Louis said.

“Lou, it’ll happen when it’s supposed to happen.”

“But like, I’m not… Um, not-”

Harry waited for Louis to finish, and when he didn’t, he prompted him. “You’re not what?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

“Lou, why are you so worried? You have a soulmate, I know it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Harry hesitated. “Well, I’m not. But, Lou, come on, someone as amazing and wonderful as you  _has_ to have someone out there to love you unconditionally. If there isn’t, then the world just doesn’t make sense.”

Harry let out an  _oof_ as Louis pounced on him, feeling the wind nearly knocked out of him.

“Thanks, Haz,” Louis muttered against Harry’s chest.

Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around Louis. “You’re welcome.” He held tightly onto Louis, pretending for just a minute that this - waking up with Louis and being able to cuddle him - was an everyday thing. It’d been something he’d dreamed about since they first met more than a year ago, in the library, of all places.

Harry smiled as he thought back on that day, when Louis was adorably trying to reach a book on a higher shelf, and Harry walked over and got it for him.

Louis had rolled his eyes and said that he could do it, but protested when Harry acted like he was going to put the book back.

Since then, they’d been good friends, their relationship growing stronger everyday. So at the end of the school year last year, when Louis’ grandmother offered to rent Louis her house so she could move to a retirement village, it seemed only natural that Louis would ask Harry, and Niall and Zayn, of course, his two other best friends, to move in so they could all save money on housing for their senior year.

It was a no-brainer for Harry, to live under the same roof as the boy he was undeniably gone for. At the time, he thought that maybe Louis’ feelings toward him would change to something more, but they were already in February, and it didn’t seem like it would be happening. But Harry was OK with just being friends with Louis, especially if it came with wonderful perks like this, like cuddling and comforting him on a Sunday morning.

They lay there for a while like that, until Harry eventually fell back asleep. Louis held on a little bit longer, though, watching his best friend sleep, and, not for the first time, wondering why life couldn’t be easier, why he couldn’t just find his soulmate in Harry. He was easily Louis’ best friend. They’d only known each other for a little more than a year, but his connection with Harry was definitely the deepest out of all his friends.

But no matter how much he wished for it, he just didn’t feel  _that_ way about Harry. For a while, Louis had wondered if he was aromantic, because of that fact, that he didn’t have romantic feelings for this beautiful, funny, charming boy currently holding him in his arms.  

But those thoughts had been dashed once he remembered the time in high school he actually  _did_ feel that way for a boy, who, by the time Louis had realized his feelings, had moved on to someone else. So no, he wasn’t aro, but he was something. Louis just wasn’t sure what yet.

\---

**_Zayn: i’m at target. I grabbed the list from the fridge, but do you guys need anything else?_ **

**_Louis: i’m good_ **

**_Harry: can you grab more eggs? I think I finished them this morning_ **

**_Niall: yeah can you get me a new toothbrush? I may have accidentally dropped mine in the toilet this morning_ **

Zayn snorted. He texted back a ‘sure’ before pocketing his phone.

He grabbed a cart and started moving through the aisles. He knew he needed more shampoo and conditioner so he started there. He wheeled the cart toward that section, nearly running into an employee as he came out of the aisle.

“Oh! Sorry!” Zayn said.

“It’s OK! It’s… um…”

Zayn looked at the guy he’d almost hit, practically melting when he saw the guy’s warm, brown eyes. He had a buzzcut and very neatly trimmed facial hair and his smile made Zayn’s balance feel off-kilter.

“Hi,” Zayn said. “Um, sorry again.”

“Yeah, it’s uh, it’s no problem.”

The guy smiled at Zayn again and walked away, heading toward the ‘Employees Only’ section near the Pharmacy.

Zayn let out a deep breath. “Guys should not be that hot.”

He went down the aisle and grabbed his shampoo and conditioner. Then he went to one of the side aisles and picked out hand soap for the bathrooms. He remembered he had to get Niall’s toothbrush, so he wandered over to that section of the store to find one.

When he got there, he parked the cart and started looking at all of the different options they had.

“Niall, what the fuck kind of toothbrush do you use?” Zayn muttered. He remembered his roommate had a blue one with zig-zaggy waves on it, so he looked for something that resembled it.

He took a step back so he could see all of his options, and he bumped into the person behind him.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m- You again.”

“Sorry, me again,” the guy from the shampoo aisle said. “I was just trying to get past you.”

“Sorry, I’m like, taking up the whole aisle.”

“No, it’s OK, I’m just- Um, I had to clock out before. I’m on my lunch break, so I’m just- Um, going to get food.”

“Oh. OK. Cool.”

“Yeah,” the guy said. He nodded once and then waved at Zayn before walking off.

“I’m Zayn,” he called after the guy.

He stopped and turned. “I’m Liam.”

“Liam. Um, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“If you had to buy someone a toothbrush, which one would you get?”

Liam raised an eyebrow, no doubt surprised by the question. “Well, what do they like?”

Zayn tried to think of Niall’s toothbrush preferences - besides blue and zig-zaggy - so he could pick something he’d like, but despite living with him since the start of the school year, Zayn was coming up blank. But he realized Liam was staring at him, waiting for an answer, so he blurted out something he hoped didn’t sound too moronic.

“Uh, any color, probably. I think soft bristles and a… handle.”

_Genius, Zayn._

“Yeah, dentists usually recommend to go with the soft bristles. They’re better for your gums. I…  I don’t know why I know that.”

Liam blushed and bit his lip, scrunching up his face in what Zayn guessed to be embarrassment.

Zayn smiled, though, horribly endeared. “Well, I didn’t know that. So that’s good to know. Um, oh, and the tongue cleaner on the back of the brush is good, too.”

“OK.” Liam came over to the display and started looking at the brushes. “Uh, this one looks pretty good for your… girlfriend?”

Zayn shook his head. “Nah, no girlfriend.”

“Boyfriend, then?”

“Yeah.”

Liam’s smile dimmed slightly, but he picked up the toothbrush he’d been looking at and handed it over.

“I don’t know why I said that,” Zayn blurted out. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I do like guys, though. Not that you asked, but I just wanted to make that clear.”

Zayn grimaced and looked away. “Fuck,” he whispered.

_Be more embarrassing, Zayn. Really._

“That’s um... ” Liam cleared his throat. “That’s good to know, too.”

“Yeah?” Zayn looked back at Liam to find him smiling softly.

“Yeah.”

\---

“I have a date Friday night!” Zayn yelled, bursting into the house.

When he didn’t immediately hear anybody running toward him to scream in excitement with him, he frowned.

“Who’s home? I know somebody is! There’s cars out front!”

“Why are you yelling?” Harry asked, coming down the hallway from his room. He was rubbing his eyes, so Zayn guessed he woke him up from a nap.

“Fuck, I forgot your eggs,” Zayn said, remembering Harry’s request.

“What?”

“Doesn’t matter. Anyway, I have a date on Friday night. Me!”

“That’s awesome, Z!” Harry smiled widely at him. He yawned before asking, “Where’d you meet him?”

He heard another door open and footsteps on the staircase.

“Was someone just yelling?” Niall asked, walking down the steps.

“It was me! I have a date on Friday!” Zayn answered.

“No shit? What’s his name?”

“His name’s Liam. I met him at Target, in the fucking toothbrush aisle. So thanks Niall for dropping yours.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. Any time.”

“So we were talking for a little while, because he was on his lunch break, and he helped me pick out your toothbrush - it’s red, by the way - and then he told me that he’s new to the area, so I casually mentioned being available to help show him around, and then we exchanged numbers and planned to meet up Friday!”

“That’s so cool,” Niall said. “Damn, why can’t I meet people at Target?”

“Hey, who knows? Niall, you could be responsible for getting Zayn to meet his soulmate,” Harry said. “I mean, if he winds up being your soulmate, of course.”

“Yeah. We’ll see. I mean, his eyes…” Zayn trailed off.

“Just his eyes? Any other parts of his body?” Niall teased.

“Don’t be gross, Ni.”

“I mean, I was talking about his arms. You know I like nice arms, Z. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Sure you were.”

“I was! Harry, you knew I was talking about arms, right?”

“Sure, Ni. Zayn, should we get the groceries out of the car?”

“Oh, shit! The groceries!”

Zayn ran out of the house, completely forgetting he’d left everything in the car in his excitement to get inside and tell anyone who was home about his date.

It wasn’t something that happened often, so pardon him for being a little distracted.

\---

Friday came around quickly, and Niall was on the couch, looking for something to watch on TV. Louis and Harry had wanted to go out to another club, but Niall hadn’t felt like it. And since Zayn was going out with Liam tonight, that meant he would actually have the house to himself, something that rarely happened.

He heard a knock at the door and waited, not knowing if Zayn was ready or not. Seconds later, Zayn yelled downstairs, “Ni, can you get that? I’m not ready!”

“Yup!”

Niall got up and walked to the door, pulling it open. He felt his jaw drop when he saw who was standing there.

“Liam?”

“Niall?”

“Holy shit!” they both said at the same time before wrapping their arms around each other excitedly.

“I can’t believe it’s you!” Liam said happily after pulling away.

“I haven’t seen you in years, man, how have you been?”

“I’m good! Great, actually. Uh, I finally got my shit together and picked a major. I transferred to school here this semester.”

“No kidding!” Niall said. “That’s fucking awesome, man.”

“Thanks. How have you been?”

“I’m great. I’m graduating this semester, actually, so it sucks that you just got here.”

Liam shook his head. “Figures. The first time I see you since high school and it’ll only be for a few months.”

“Of course. Is your number still the same? We’ll have to hang out.”

“Yeah, it’s the same.”

“Awesome… So, um, not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”

Liam checked his watch and took a step back to check the number on the house. “Well, I’m actually supposed to be picking up a date?”

Niall’s eyes bulged. “No shit.  _You’re_ Zayn’s Liam?”

“So this is the right address?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m his roommate.” Niall laughed. “This is crazy. When he said he was going out with a guy named Liam, I never thought it would be you.”

“Niall? What’s going on?”

They both took a step into the house to see Zayn coming down the stairs.

“Z, you didn’t tell me you were going out with Liam Payne.”

“Sorry? Wait, you guys know each other?”

“Yeah, we went through high school together.”

“And middle school and elementary school,” Liam continued. “Best friends, weren’t we?”

“Absolutely. And then I came here, and we kind of… lost touch, you know.”

“Small fucking world,” Zayn said.

“Yeah, isn’t it?” Niall asked. “Well, at least you know I approve of your date, Z.”

Liam and Zayn smiled.

“It was great seeing you,” Liam told Niall. “We do have to catch up.”

“Yeah, definitely. Well, you two should be heading out, right?”

Liam looked at Zayn. “You look great.”

“Thanks. So do you.”

“I’ll bring him back at a reasonable time, Ni,” Liam said with a wink.

“You better not!” Niall called out as he returned to the couch. “No great date ever ends with coming home at a reasonable hour.”

Zayn snorted and shook his head before leading Liam out the door.

Once he heard the door shut behind them, Niall waited a minute before grabbing his laptop from the coffee table.

He opened it up, bringing him to the page he’d been looking at before his roommates had started coming home earlier.

At the top of the page was the word he’d been throwing around in his head, but still wasn’t sure about.

But if he wanted to put a label on his sexuality, just for his own peace of mind, this one was the one closest to what he was feeling.

He thought back to his last time he went out with someone, a blind date with one of Harry’s friends. Her name was Barbara, and she was absolutely beautiful. She had pretty blue eyes and nice, full lips. She was funny and smart and everything he would want in a partner.

But there was nothing there. For him, at least. He couldn’t see a future with her. No long walks on the beach, no white picket fences, no getting down on one knee, no growing old together. And he should’ve. He really wanted to.

They’d wound up going to dinner and out dancing, and had a great time. They’d even hooked up at her apartment that night, so that killed Niall’s thoughts of if Barbara being a girl was the problem. And since then, he’d been struggling. But as he looked at the word on his screen, the world made a little bit more sense.

**Aromantic.**

\---

Zayn and Liam went to a nice Italian restaurant in the city. They went in and were seated at a booth near a window so they could look out and people watch.

The waiter came by to give them water and then asked if they wanted anything else to drink. After taking their orders, he promised he’d be right back.

After the waiter walked away, Liam took a deep breath. “Um, Zayn can I talk to you about something?”

Zayn looked away from his water glass in concern. “Uh-oh. This doesn’t sound good. I didn’t mess something up already, did I?”

“No, no, no, it’s nothing like that, I promise. Sorry, I probably should’ve started that off better.”

“Oh.” Zayn sighed in relief. “What’s up?”

“OK, so, I just don’t want to continue any further without telling you something. It’s pretty important, and I just hope that it’s not like, a deal breaker for you. Because it has been in the past.”

“OK.”

“Um, so… Um- You know how, in relationships, people usually have sex?” Liam asked.

“Yeah. I’m vaguely familiar with the concept,” Zayn said teasingly.

Liam snorted. “Right. That was a dumb question. Well, um, I’m ace? Like, that’s not me having a big head or anything. I’m asexual. That’s what I should’ve said.”

Zayn nodded. “Oh. OK. So, that means you don’t have sex, right?”

“For me it does. It carries a different exact definition for everybody. I have before. Had sex, that is, but more out of curiosity than anything, like, just to see what it was like. But I never felt the intense desire to do that with anyone like in the movies where the characters are so desperate for each other that they have to have each other right then, you know what I mean? I just don’t have that drive. And the times I have done it, I mean… it was fine. I guess? It was kind of messy, if I’m being honest. But after having sex, I really don’t have any interest in having it again with my partners.”

Zayn nodded, taking it all in.

“Um, is that OK?” Liam asked after a moment.

“Of course it’s OK,” Zayn said. He reached across the table and took Liam’s hand in is. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Like I said, it’s been an issue before.” Liam took a deep breath. “I just, I really like you and I don’t want you to walk away from this just because I’m- I guess, not wired the same as other guys. And I don’t want you to think it’s me like, playing hard to get or like, just not being in the mood. It’s just how I am.”

Zayn nodded and squeezed Liam’s hand. “Well, I’ve had sex before, and it was… fine. Some of it was good and some of it was great. But… this isn’t a deal breaker for me.”

Liam’s eyebrows rose slightly. “It’s not?”

“No, it’s not. I mean, sex is just one part of a relationship, and it’s never been a big one for me. The connection between us is way more important to me. So if sex is something that you don’t want to do, then we won’t.”

“Really?” Liam asked, a bit in disbelief.

Zayn smiled. “Really.”

“That’s-” Liam’s voice cut off suddenly and both of them let out a quick gasp.

Zayn could feel a warm throbbing in his chest, right near his heart, and one look at Liam told him that he was feeling the same.

After a moment, it was over, but their lives had officially changed forever.

“Oh, my God,” they said.

They both turned as someone at the table next to theirs loudly cleared their throat.

“Congratulations, boys,” an older woman told them. She and her husband smiled at them, and she also raised her wine glass in a toast to them.

“Thank you,” they both said. Then they looked back to each other.

“So that was it,” Liam said, still a bit in shock.

“That’s it. The feeling everybody waits their whole lives for.”

Liam smiled. “Guess I can relax a little bit more now.”

“Yeah, so can I,” Zayn said. “Looks like you’re stuck with me forever.”

Liam laughed. “I think there’s worse things in life, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, definitely.”

\---

“Well?” Louis and Harry pounced on Zayn as soon as he walked in the front door well after midnight. Zayn noticed Niall hanging back, still sitting on the couch.

“Let me come in the house now, boys,” Zayn teased, taking his time unlacing and kicking off his shoes. He loved riling Louis up; it was always so fun to see him pouting and tapping his foot in annoyance.

Zayn sighed and walked into the living room. “Hey, Niall.”

“Hey, Z,” Niall said, trying not to laugh.

Harry and Louis followed him and stood by the coffee table, waiting for Zayn to say something. Zayn sat down on the sofa, picked up the television remote and started flicking through the channels, and Louis glared daggers at him.

“So what happened?” Louis finally asked once Zayn put on a rerun of  _Boy Meets World_.

“When?”

“Zayn!”

“Z, please tell him before he gives himself a stroke,” Harry said with a sigh.

“Fine.” He lowered the volume of the television and looked up at his friends. “Looks like I found my soulmate, boys.”

“What!” Louis yelled. Harry clapped a hand over his mouth and Niall’s eyes just widened.

“Yeah,” Zayn told them with a grin. “Liam’s- Liam’s it.”

“Holy shit, Z,” Harry said. “That’s fucking awesome, man.”

Zayn bit his lower lip and nodded. “Yeah, it really is.”

“So when do we actually meet him?” Louis asked.

“Um, I don’t know. Maybe next weekend?”

“No,” Louis whined. “I have to go home next weekend. It’s the twins’ birthday party.”

“Sucks for you,” Harry said. “We can still meet him.”

Louis hit Harry on the arm with no actual force behind it. “Rude,” he said, pouting.

“Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry at all. “But Zayn, bring him over anyway. Louis can meet him some other time.”

“Yeah, OK. I’ll ask him in the morning.”

“Cool,” Harry said.

Louis looked over at Niall, who’d been very quiet. “Ni, you all right?”

Niall glanced at him, then up to Zayn and Harry, who were talking about what they could have for dinner when Liam came over.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” Niall answered, though it sounded fake even to him. “Just… our Zaynie’s all grown up, you know? Scary to think the universe is ready to trust us with soulmates.”

“Hey, speak for yourself,” Louis said. “I’m very mature and ready for a soulmate.”

“Louis, the other day you got mad at me because I changed  _Harry Potter_ on the TV,” Zayn said, tuning in to their conversation.

“It was  _Half-Blood Prince,_ and Harry had just taken the felix felicis! You know I love that part!”

“You didn’t have to kick me, though!”

“I’ll kick you right now. Don’t think I won’t.”

“Oh, shut up,” Zayn said with a sigh.

“No!” Louis yelled, holding out the  _o_.

“Oh, nice, real mature!” Zayn shouted over Louis’ long ‘no.’

Harry and Niall took one look at each other, shook their heads and retreated to their respective bedrooms.

When Niall shut the door behind him, he leaned up against it. Zayn had met his soulmate, and Niall was still coming to terms with who the hell he was. He didn’t know how that would affect him in finding his soulmate, and the thought was terrifying as hell.

\---

When Harry got home from work the next day, he found all three of his roommates in the living room.

The lights were out and eerie music played on the television.

Harry shut the door behind him and looked at the screen, trying to figure out what movie it was. It looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember the title.

“What are you watching?” he asked loudly, making all three of them jump.

“Harry!” Louis whined. He paused the movie and glared at his roommate. “What are you doing?”

“Uhh… Coming home from work? What are you doing?”

“Watching  _The Strangers._ ”

“ _That’s_ the title,” Harry said, remembering how Louis had made him watch the movie at Halloween. “But why?”

“Why not?”

“Louis’ procrastinating homework,” Zayn explained. “We might be joining him.”

“But Louis is the only one who likes scary movies,” Harry said. “Why aren’t you watching something else?”

Niall shrugged. “He got to the tv first.”

Harry nodded. “Right.”

“Haz, come join us,” Louis said.

“Can’t. I have homework to finish. And I’m actually going to do it unlike  _some_ people around here.”

“If you’re gonna be lame and actually do homework on a Saturday night, can you at least make us popcorn?” Niall asked with a smile.

Harry just stared. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I won’t even be here to eat it. You guys can make it.”

Harry started to walk to his room, and Niall yelled after him, “Please, Harry? You’re the only one who makes it without completely burning it!”

“That’s pretty sad, Niall!”

Harry got to his room and shut the door behind him.

He opened his laptop and brought up the essay he needed to finish typing. He skimmed over what he already had written and liked what he had so far.

“OK. Let’s write.” Harry cracked his knuckles and placed his fingers on the keyboard, waiting for inspiration to strike.

It didn’t.

He made it exactly fifteen minutes before admitting defeat and deciding to go watch the movie.

With a sigh, Harry went to the kitchen and made two bags of microwave popcorn. He poured the contents of each bag into a separate bowl and headed to the living room.

“Our hero,” Louis said as Harry squeezed himself onto the couch next to him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry said, giving one bowl to Louis and the other to Niall to share with Zayn. “Can I put that on my resume? Expert microwave popcorn maker and savior of movie night?”

“Sure. I’d hire you.”

“Great. That’s good to know.”

Zayn shushed them. “Quiet! It’s at the good part.”

Harry frowned. “She’s getting chased through the woods by some psycho with a knife.”

“Exactly.”

Harry just ate some popcorn, and, not for the first time, wondered just how normal his roommates actually were.

\---

“Damn it!” Zayn swore. He, Niall and Liam were playing Mario Kart. Liam was playing as Bowser, and he had just caught up to him and Niall, which meant they had to play another mini game, which meant that Liam now had another chance to win the game.

“I’m already down to two hearts,” Niall grumbled. “I forgot how vicious you get at these games, Liam.”

“Yeah, I was fooled by the kind eyes,” Zayn said.

“Sorry,” Liam told them as they sat through the tutorial of how to play the game.

“No, you’re not.”

Liam shrugged.

“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes!” Harry called from the kitchen, even though he knew the others probably wouldn’t hear him.

He’d kept dinner pretty simple tonight, making salad and spaghetti, with garlic bread that would be done soon.

He carried the spaghetti to the table.

“H, you need help with that?” Niall asked, noticing him starting to get ready.

“Yeah, can you grab the salad?”

“Sure. Saves me from getting my ass beat out here.”

Harry laughed before heading back to the kitchen. Just as he pulled the garlic bread out of the oven, he felt his phone go off in his pocket.

He placed the pan on the stove so he could check the message, though he already had an idea of who it was from. As he unlocked the phone he saw a second message from Louis come in, and two more quickly followed. 

**_Louis: so what’s going on?_ **

**_Louis: do we like him?_ **

**_Louis: will I like him?_ **

**_Louis: why aren’t you answering_ **

**_Harry: because you’re sending your messages all at once you basket case_ **

**_Louis: sorry_ **

**_Louis: but do we like Liam?_ **

**_Harry: of course we do_ **

Harry peeked out into the living room to see that Zayn had turned off the game, and he and Liam were talking quietly.

**_Harry: he’s cool. I’ve been getting dinner together so I haven’t talked to him too much._ **

**_Louis: well I expect a full report by the end of the night._ **

**_Louis: with quotes_ **

**_Louis: and a works cited page_ **

**_Harry: shut up_ **

**_Harry: like you would read a works cited page anyway_ **

**_Louis: valid. Well have fun at dinner._ **

**_Harry: will do. See you Sunday_ **

Harry put his phone away and saw that while he was talking to Louis, Niall must have moved the garlic bread to a plate, because all he saw now was an empty pan.

He went out to the dining room and saw all of the food set out.

“Anything else?” Niall asked.

“No, that should be it. Liam, Zayn! Dinner!”

A moment later, the two of them came into the room.

“Anybody want a beer or anything?” Niall asked.

“Yeah, I’ll take one,” Liam said.

Zayn just nodded.

They sat down while Niall went to get the beer.

“OK, dig in,” Harry said.

They loaded up their plates with food, and once Niall returned with their drinks, he did the same.

“So Liam, you knew Niall before, right?” Harry asked.

“Sure did,” Liam answered. “Uh, we lived a few streets away from each other when we were kids, so we hung out a lot. Went to all of the same schools, too.”

“And then what?”

“Well, Niall always knew what he wanted to do. I  _thought_ I knew what I wanted to do, but turns out I really didn’t. I did some traveling for a while, saw parts of the world. And it was great, honestly. I met a lot of new people and figured out some things about myself, you know? So two summers ago, I took some classes, and then that fall, I signed up for more, and here I am.”

“What are you majoring in?” Niall asked.

“Uh, I want to get my degree in counseling,” Liam told them. 

“That’s awesome, man.”

“Thanks. I mean, I want to try and help people who are… well, not lost, but like, trying to figure things out, like I was. I think I’d enjoy doing that.”

“And you’d be good at it, too,” Zayn told him. “You’re easy to talk to, so I think people will respond well to you.”

“Thank you. What about you guys? What are you here for?”

“I’m a music major, as we always expected,” Niall said.

“That's awesome. Gonna write the next great love song, Ni?”

Niall chuckled awkwardly. He looked down at his lap and scratched a nonexistent itch on his forehead before saying, “Yeah. Uh, yeah, yeah. Maybe.”

“I’m an English major,” Harry said. “Oh, and Louis’ in the Physical Therapy program.”

Liam nodded. “Yeah, this mysterious Louis. I still have to meet him.”

“You’ll like him. He’s pretty cool.”

“Oh, is he, Harry?” Zayn teased. “Is he  _cool?"_

Harry kicked him under the table.

“Oh, are you and Louis together?” Liam asked innocently.

“No,” the other three said, Harry a bit grumpier about it than the others.

“Oh,” Liam said. “Got it.”

“Whatever,” Harry said with a shrug. “Not that important. Look, you and Zayn are soulmates! Let’s celebrate that!”

“Let’s also celebrate the fact that we don’t have to do the whole ‘if you hurt our roommate, we’ll hurt you’ speech,” Niall said. “You know, since you’re already soulmates and all.”

“Yeah, you’re saving us time. You’re worth keeping around already.”

“Gee, thanks, guys,” Zayn muttered. “Feeling the love here. Really.”

“You should be, Z. I mean, come on, it’s not like we could change your mind anyway. I think the whole soulmate thing is worth more than our opinion.”

Liam took Zayn’s hand and squeezed it, making Zayn smile.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Zayn finally said.

“Wait,” Niall said loudly, making the others jump. “I actually do have a question for you, Liam, and you need to answer this correctly otherwise you might actually mess this all up.”

Liam frowned, but leaned forward to show that he was taking this seriously.

“Um, OK. What’s the question?”

“Well, since you work at Target… Can you get us a discount there?” Niall asked.

“Niall!” Zayn said.

“What?” Niall wondered as Liam and Harry started laughing. “We’re there like, every other day. It couldn’t hurt.”

“That’s because people don’t always update the list so we wind up forgetting things,” Harry pointed out.

Niall frowned. “Don’t look at me.”

“Well I would be looking at Louis, but he’s not here, so…”

“So I’m the one who has to shoulder the blame for it?”

“You’re the one who needed a toothbrush the other day,” Harry said.

“And you needed eggs!”

“Well, Zayn took the list before I could write down eggs on it.”

“Well maybe Zayn left before I did and I couldn’t write ‘toothbrush’ on it.”

“He didn’t!”

“Oh, shut up, Harry!” Niall said.

“Make me!”

“Can you guys both shut up?” Zayn asked, interrupting them. “You’re the most embarrassing people on this planet.”

“Maybe not on the planet, but definitely in the room,” Liam said.

“Thank you,” Niall and Harry said in unison.

“You sure you want to deal with them all the time?” Zayn asked. “Because, they’re sort of not going away.”

“Eh. Everybody has crazy friends. I kind of like yours.”

“Thank you?” Harry and Niall said. Although, this time, they were unsure if they should really be thanking him or if they should be offended.

\---

The following Thursday, Louis stood at the bar of the club he’d come to with Zayn and Niall. Harry had to stay at home tonight because he had a big test tomorrow, so he decided to stay in and study.

Luckily for Zayn, Liam had just joined them a little while ago, so Louis had decided to spend some time on the dance floor with his friend Bebe and a few other people he knew from school.

As he stood there, he looked around for his friends. He saw Zayn and Liam at the booth where he’d left them, sitting closely together with their heads hunched toward each other.

There wasn’t any sign of Niall, though Louis was sure he was fine. Maybe he’d found some people he knew from school, too.

While he was waiting for the bartender to come around again, Louis pulled out his phone, planning on telling Harry that he wasn’t missing much just because he was at home being a responsible kid.

That’s when he looked up and saw Niall coming out of the bathroom. He waved to catch his roommate’s attention. He was surprised to see Niall staring at him with wide eyes, and before he could think too much of it, another guy walked out behind Niall.

He walked by Niall, and if Louis wasn’t paying attention, he would’ve missed the way the other guy trailed his fingers along Niall’s lower back as he walked away.

_Well that’s new._

Niall came over to the bar and stood next to Louis, not directly meeting his gaze.

“Did you…?” Louis started to ask. He didn’t finish, though, when he saw the blush across Niall’s cheeks.

“Oh. You did.”

“Yeah,” Niall admitted. “Just, um, trying to make sure of something.”

“Interesting. Was it good?”

Niall just nodded.

“So… Are you, bi?” Louis only asked because he knew Niall had hooked up with girls before. He’d never mentioned liking guys, too.

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“Cool.”

Niall just stared ahead.

“You weren’t like, afraid to tell me, were you?” Louis wondered. “Because, you know I would never judge you for that.”

“No, I know,” Niall said. “Just, I didn’t want to say anything until I was actually sure, you know?”

Louis nodded quickly. “Yeah. Yeah, I definitely get that feeling.”

Niall frowned. Louis was the most confident person he’d ever known, especially in his sexuality. So what was he talking about?

“Wait, what do you-?”

“Let’s get shots!” Louis said instead of answering the question Niall was about to ask.

Niall was curious, but knew when Louis didn’t want to talk.

But at least he was slowly getting his sexuality figured out. One step at a time.

\---

When Harry got home from class, he found Louis in the kitchen, looking through the cabinets.

“What are you doing?” Harry asked.

Louis closed the cabinet drawer and turned to look at Harry, who instantly saw that he’d been crying.

“Lou, what’s the matter?” Harry asked immediately. 

“Can I tell you something?” Louis asked instead.

“Of course.”

“And don’t tell anybody about it, OK? I want to tell people.”

“What’s the matter?”

Louis took a deep breath. “I’m demi. Demiromantic, I think is the right term. Because I’m still gay. I still like guys. So, I think I’m demiromantic and homosexual, to be completely accurate or whatever.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“So what does that mean exactly?” Harry asked. “I’m not trying to be insensitive, I swear.”

“No, it’s OK. I’m still trying to figure this out, too. But basically, I like guys. As far as my sexuality, when the time comes, I don’t want to sleep with women. I like being with guys and kissing them and whatever, so that’s who I’m attracted to. But, as far as dating, and like, wanting to be exclusive with somebody, I need like, a solid emotional connection with a guy before I can move further. Like, I won’t develop feelings for them - real feelings - until there’s like, a… Um, a connection. Fuck, why can’t I think of a better way to describe this?”

“You’re doing fine,” Harry told him.

“Thanks. But like, you know how I told you freshman year I lost it to that guy? Zach?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, trying not to grimace at the idea of someone else touching Louis.

“Well, it makes sense now. Like, after I slept with him, I just felt… guilty? Like, wrong for doing it? And, I liked the experience, I liked the guy being there instead of a girl, and at the time I was so anxious about it I thought I was going to throw up, but I thought it was just because of nerves at what I was about to do. But it  _makes sense_  now, Harry. I was feeling that way because I didn’t know Zach! Like, at all. I met him at a party, Harry, and then I did it like a week later. There was no connection there, so I think that’s why I felt so wrong.”

“Louis, this is awesome. I’m so happy for you!”

“Thanks!” Louis smiled widely. “I mean,  _God,_ Harry, it’s like this huge weight has been lifted off my chest. Like, I can breathe again. I’d been trying to figure myself out for so long, because when I got here, I already knew I was gay, but like, in the back of my head, I knew there was more. And this is it. I’m just so relieved.”

Harry smiled. “I’m so proud of you. And thank you for telling me.”

“Of course, Haz! I couldn’t not tell you; you’re my best friend.”

_Best friend._

Harry tried not to let his smile falter because this moment was about Louis, not about Harry’s own selfish wishes.

“I’m making you a rainbow cake,” Harry decided, knowing he could use a distraction right now.

“What? No!”

“Yup! Doing it!”

Harry started pulling mixing bowls from the cabinet next to the fridge.

“Harry, stop!” Louis said, laughing. “You’re not making me a cake!”

“Why not? It’s a big moment! I know I have food coloring here somewhere…”

Through his giggles, Louis told him, “People come out all the time, Harry! It’s not a big deal!”

“Yeah, but this was a big deal for you. And I’m so happy that you feel more comfortable being yourself now.”

Louis sighed. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

Harry shrugged. “You’re just lucky, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess. Well, if you insist on baking me this cake I guess I can’t stop you.”

“Thank you.”

“I have some homework to work on, though, so I’ll be upstairs.”

“I’ll let you know when it’s ready,” Harry said as Louis left the room.

Louis headed for the stairs, hearing Harry moving around in the kitchen and moving things around. As he went up to his room, he couldn’t have been happier about having someone who understood him as well as Harry did.

He hoped that when he finally met his soulmate, he would be just as understanding.

\---

That night at dinner, Louis told Niall and Zayn, wanting to be open with his roommates, and also wanting to explain the sudden appearance of a rainbow cake.

“We need to come out more often if it gets Harry to bake cakes like this,” Zayn joked, finishing off his slice.

Louis laughed and Harry smiled while Niall stayed silent.

“In all seriousness, though, thank you for trusting us enough to tell us.”

“Of course,” Louis said. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Coming out is a scary thing. I mean, we’ve all done it. Well, Niall, you haven’t, but-”

“I’m bi,” Niall blurted out. “Bisexual. Yeah.”

The ‘aromantic’ didn’t come out, too, though, as much as it lingered on his tongue.

“Oh,” Harry said. “OK. Thanks for telling us." 

“Yeah. I mean, if we’re coming out tonight, now might be as good a time as ever.”

Louis smiled and patted Niall on the shoulder. “Proud of you, man.”

“Thank you.”

“Guess you should make another cake, then,” Zayn told Harry.

“Yeah, I guess I should.” Harry grinned. “Anybody else have anything to confess? Should I make another cake while I’m at it?”

And there it was: Niall’s chance to come completely clean and tell his roommates everything he’d been thinking for the last few months.

But he couldn’t. So he stayed silent.

“You could for Liam, if you want,” Zayn said.

“Why?” Louis asked.

“Liam’s ace. He told me when we went out to dinner. Don’t worry; he told me I could tell you guys.”

“Two cakes it is,” Harry decided. “I’ll get to work tomorrow, though, if you don’t mind. I’m a little caked out at the moment.”

“No such thing,” Louis said.

“Obviously. You ate half of it.”

“You made it  _for me_. Why wouldn’t I eat half of it?”

“Because you’ll give yourself a stomachache,” Zayn said.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Just don’t come crying to me in the middle of the night when you don’t feel well,” Harry told him.  

“I won’t.”

“Again.”

Louis grumbled under his breath, and when Harry asked him to speak up, he refused. He knew when Harry had won an argument. Right now, this was one of those times.

\---   

**_Harry: I bought that nasal spray you like._ **

And that was it. Seven simple words that had Louis reeling.

“Oh, my God,” he said to himself.

It wasn’t like Harry hadn’t done nice things for him before. Hell, Harry was  _always_ doing nice things for him. But today, when Louis was home sick with a cold, couldn’t breathe out of one nostril and just felt all-around miserable, Zayn and Niall had left for class and work and just told Louis that they hoped he’d feel better.

But of course, Harry had to go one step further and stop at the store to get Louis the damn nasal spray that’s probably one of the most expensive brands on the shelf, but never fails to help Louis breathe.

Which was funny as hell considering he felt like he couldn’t breathe right now, and not because of his cold.

“Oh, God.”

He liked Harry. Like,  _liked_ him. And knowing what he knew now, about himself and how he felt about people, it made sense. His and Harry’s connection had always been the strongest and all of the research he’d done online had said that there might be an ‘oh my God, I love _____’ moment. One forum had even had a string of people telling stories of how they realized they were in love with their best friends and it took just a simple thing for them to understand it.

And now Louis was having his ‘OMG’ moment. Over fucking nasal spray.

He jumped when he heard a key in the lock to the front door. Harry came in, looking happy as ever to see him.

“Hey, Lou,” he said. He locked the door behind him and held out a white plastic bag. “Your nasal spray.”

“Thank you.” Louis reached out a hand to take the bag. “You know I love you, right, Haz?”

Harry smiled. “Yeah. Louis, it’s just nasal spray. Anybody else would’ve done the same.”

_Not true._

“Right. Yeah, yeah. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Can I get you anything? Soup? Tea?”

“No, I’m good, um…” Louis felt nervous all of a sudden, almost afraid to ask Harry what he wanted to ask. But it was  _Harry_. He would never turn Louis down for a cuddle. “Would you mind coming to sit with me, though? I promise I won’t cough on you or anything.”

Harry snorted. “Yeah, sure. Let me just change out of my jeans.”

“OK.”

Harry went down the hallway to his room, and Louis took a deep breath, trying to get himself together.

_Do I tell him? I have to tell him._

Louis had no idea if Harry’s feelings would be reciprocated, though. He didn’t know if Harry would be comfortable with the idea of Louis liking him. What if Harry didn’t feel the same way? What if he laughed in his face and called Louis a huge loser? What if he told everybody and Louis had to change schools out of embarrassment because of everyone knowing how he felt?

OK, that was a little extreme. Harry would never do that, would never let Louis down in any way that wasn’t completely gentle.

But still. Louis didn’t want Harry to turn him down.

“OK, I’m back,” Harry said, returning to the room. He sat on the couch next to Louis and asked, “What are we watching?”

And, well, Louis didn't actually remember. He’d gotten a bit distracted in the last few minutes.

“Uh…” He looked at the TV, hoping for an answer, relieved when the commercial break ended. “ _Breaking Bad._ Just some old reruns.”

“Cool. Haven’t watched this in awhile.”

“Yeah. Yeah, um, do you want the blanket? I don’t want to hog it all.” Louis grabbed a corner of the throw blanket currently draped across his legs.

“No, you can have it if you’re cold.”

“No, here. I can share.” He grabbed the blanket and spread it out a bit more so that it covered both of them.

“Thanks,” Harry said.  

“You’re welcome.”

They watched the show in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Louis started to get antsy.

“You OK?” Harry asked, noticing Louis fidget.

“Yeah, I’m good. Um, do you mind if I…?” He tilted his head toward Harry, knowing that Harry would understand what he was talking about.

“Yeah. Of course, Lou. You don’t have to ask.”

Harry put his arm on the back of the sofa so Louis could snuggle in next to him. When Louis was comfortable, he brought his arm around Louis’ shoulders, holding him close.

Louis rested his head on Harry’s shoulder. They’d cuddled together plenty of times before, but this one felt… different. More like home.

Louis looked up at Harry, who was focused on the television. Louis was close enough that he could see the flecks of gold in his green eyes. He could also see the slight stubble coming in across his upper lip and the baby hairs curling around his little ears. His face was just so attractive.

And obviously, Louis had known that from the start, that Harry was handsome, but now he was just…  _really_ noticing it.

“Why are you staring at me?” Harry asked with a slight smirk on his face.

“Nothing.”

_What?_

“What?”

“I mean, um, I’m not. I’m not staring at you.”

Harry looked at him. “Are you OK? Is this cold messing with your head?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“So what’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird since I got home.”

Louis sighed. “Um, Haz, you’re my best friend, right?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah.”

“Would you be my best friend no matter what?”

“Yeah. I mean, unless you tell me you’re secretly a Republican and you voted for Trump.”

Louis snorted. “Yeah, right. Uh, no, definitely not.”

“Then yeah, I’ll be your best friend no matter what.”

Louis smiled softly. “OK. Um, can I do something?”

“Sure?”

Louis quickly leaned up and kissed Harry on the cheek. When he pulled back, he saw that Harry was smiling widely.

“What was that for?” Harry asked quietly.

“Do you ever think about… maybe being with me as more than a friend?”

Immediately, he felt Harry tense up, and  _fuck_ this was a bad idea.

“What?” Harry asked roughly.

“I mean… um, shit.” Louis pushed the blanket back so he could get up, but Harry grabbed his arm, keeping him there.

“Don’t go,” Harry said quickly. “But, why are you asking me that?”

“Well, um, I kind of might like you? Like, as more than a friend. But I mean, I know we’re best friends, and you probably only see me as that, but like, I sort of just figured out that I like you as more than that, and I don’t want you to think I’ve been like, friend-zoning you for the last year, but-”

Louis stopped rambling as Harry leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

“So…” Louis trailed off as Harry opened his mouth to speak.

“I would’ve kissed you for real, but you’re sick, and no offense, no matter how much I like you, I can’t really afford to miss class right now.”

Louis snorted before bursting into laughter. He leaned forward, resting his head against Harry’s chest as his shoulders started shaking.

Harry wrapped his arms around Louis as he laughed, too.

“You’re ridiculous,” Louis finally said, catching his breath. “But I’ll allow it. This time.”

“Good.”

“So you like me, too, then?”

“Yeah.” Harry pulled back so he could look Louis in the eyes as he said, “I really do.”

Just then, they both gasped as they felt a sudden warmth in their chests. They each put a hand over their heart, feeling that ‘soulmate feeling.’

“You’ve been it this whole time,” Louis realized.

“You have, too.”

“I guess we just didn’t feel it before because… I wasn’t ready to feel it? Ready to know that you were it for me?”

“Um. Yeah, I think so.”

“Man, this soulmate thing is crazy.”

Harry grinned. “It really is. Um, would now be a safe time to tell you that, after you came out to me the other day, I thought that, maybe there was still a chance for you to like me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve liked you since I met you, Louis. And, I never got that vibe from you, so I just thought that we’d always be friends. But then, you told me you were demi, so I thought, maybe our connection wasn’t strong enough for you to feel  _that way_ about me yet, and maybe there was still a chance that you would.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. That’s pretty selfish of me, isn’t it?”

Louis shook his head. “I don’t think so. I love that you were willing to wait for me, though.”

“You’re pretty worth it, babe.”

Louis smiled and wrapped his arms around Harry, snuggling back into him. He sighed when Harry pulled him closer, just loving the feeling of another huge weight lifted off his chest.

\---

That night at dinner, Harry and Louis figured there wasn’t any point in waiting to tell their roommates about their day.

“And then I just knew,” Louis said, finishing the story. “And we talked for like, a minute, and then that was it. We had  _the feeling_ , and that was it.”

“I can’t believe you two were soulmates this whole time,” Zayn said. “God, this shit works in the craziest ways.”

“That’s what I said!”

“We’re gonna try not to make it weird for you guys,” Harry told them. “Promise. We’ll still keep our separate rooms and try not to be too gross.”

“Yeah, right.” Zayn rolled his eyes. “You two were gross before, so I expect it to get worse now.”

“Hey!”

“You love us, Z,” Louis said with a laugh.

“Eh. I guess.”

He looked over at Niall, who was steadily staring at his dinner plate.

“Ni, you OK?”

“Yeah,” Niall forced out. “I’m really happy for you guys.”

“Ni, what’s wrong?” Harry asked.

“Nothing. I, um…” He felt the first tear slide down his cheek before he could stop it.

“Niall,” Louis said. He stood up from the dining table and started to walk over to him.

“No, don’t.” Niall got up, as well, and took two steps toward the door before pausing.

“Niall, what’s the matter?” Zayn asked.

Niall turned back around and saw all three of his friends staring at him, concern written all over their faces.

“I um… I have to tell you guys something. And I’ve been, I guess, struggling with it for a while, but I’ve been scared to actually say it out loud.”

“Niall, what’s wrong?” Harry asked.

“I’m aro,” Niall said before he could stop himself. “I’m aro. Aromantic. I don’t- I don’t feel  _that_ kind of love, and I won’t. It’s been something I’ve been thinking for a while, and, it just- It sucks! It sucks. All this time, I thought it was because I hadn’t met the right person yet, but that’s not it… it’s me.  _I’m_ why I haven’t found my soulmate, because my head is all damaged or whatever.”

“Niall, you’re not damaged!” Zayn told him. “Don’t say that.”

“But like, we’ve gone our entire lives being told that our soulmates were always right around the corner, just waiting for us. There was someone for all of us. My mom always told me that ever since I was a little kid, and she even made up a story for me and now- Now, I’m never gonna have that! Don’t you get it?” Niall was practically hysterical as he said, “I’m never going to have a soulmate!”

“Niall, you could still have a soulmate!” Louis insisted.

“How?” Niall shouted, making his friends jump. “How, Louis? How will I find someone I’ll love for the rest of my life if I don’t feel that kind of love?”

“OK, so fine, maybe you won’t have a soulmate, but you still have us!” Louis yelled. “And you have your family-”

“My family,” Niall scoffed. “You mean my parents who hate each other so much they can’t even be in the same city? Or my brother who lives across the country who I only talk to on holidays? You mean that family?”

The three of them didn’t have a comeback for that, because, yes, Niall’s family situation wasn’t the best. As a child, it was perfectly normal, but over the years, it had… deteriorated, to say the least.

“And now I have the three of you,” Niall said sadly, “who all have a soulmate. And don’t get me wrong, I’m  _so_ happy for you guys. You don’t even know how happy. But, it just, it hurts because I’m not going to have that. Ever. And it’s not because I’m an asshole or I have no sense of humor or anything that’s my fault. It’s because I just don’t feel it. What kind of bullshit is that?”

Harry sniffled. “Niall-”

“I’ll be upstairs.” Niall didn’t let Harry finish whatever he was going to say. “I’m fine, guys, really, and I’m so happy for you, I just- I need to be alone right now.”

He went upstairs to his room, ignoring his friends calling after him. He shut the door behind him and crawled into bed, letting the tears finally take over.

\---

Over the next week, Niall did all that he could to avoid his roommates, including waking up early and staying out of the house all day.

But on Friday night, he knew he couldn’t avoid them anymore. He’d left the house before eight that morning, went to his classes and spent the last three hours at the library, not even having anything to study for. His roommates had been texting him all day, and he hadn’t responded to any of them except for one that Louis sent around lunchtime asking when he’d be home.

‘Tonight’ had been his answer, and he didn’t elaborate past that.

He just didn’t know if he was ready to face them yet. After his meltdown - for lack of a better word - he didn't know what to do next. He knew they’d tell him that they loved him and would support him, but he still needed some time to wallow, and realize that everything he’d heard his whole life no longer applied to him.

So he unlocked the front door that night after dinner, not knowing where they’d be.

Surprisingly, the house was dark, so Niall dropped his book bag by the door and locked it behind him. Then the light was turned on.

“Surprise!” Zayn, Louis and Harry all yelled. Harry threw confetti, Louis blew into a noisemaker and Zayn tossed balloons at him.

Niall stood there, taking it all in before asking, “Guys, what the actual fuck is going on?”

“We’re celebrating!” Harry answered.

“Celebrating what?”

“That we all finally understand our sexualities. It sucks and it’s confusing and as much as we wish we could just be labeled with it at birth, that’s not how it works. So we’re celebrating the fact that we understand ourselves.”

Niall sighed. “Yeah, but guys-”

“Also,” Zayn said, cutting Niall off, “we’re celebrating the fact that we all have people who love and support us no matter what. Speaking of, Liam is on his way over. He wanted to be here when you got back, but he had to stay late at work.”

“Guys, this is nice, but I don’t-”

“Also,” Louis added, “we’re celebrating that even though we don’t all feel one hundred percent comfortable with who we are all the time, we have people we can talk to whenever we feel down. And we have people who won’t judge us for how we react in stressful situations and will always be there.”

Niall smiled, but looked down at his feet.

“And Harry made cupcakes.”

That got Niall’s attention. “Cupcakes?”

“Yup!” Harry went to the coffee table and picked up a serving tray. “They’re [Bailey’s Irish cream](http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/baileys-irish-cream-cupcakes-360230). I know you love them.”

“But it’s not St. Patrick’s Day. You said you only make them for St. Patrick’s Day.”

“I figured this was a special occasion.”

“And we have the highlights from last year’s [Union](https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/) season ready to go on the DVR,” Zayn said with a grin. “We won’t even make fun of you for adding your own commentary.”

Niall laughed.

“ _And_ , if that wasn’t enough,” Louis said, “the fridge is fully stocked with beer and we already ordered like, three pizzas and an order of that cheesy bread you like.”

“I do like cheesy bread,” Niall muttered.

“We know.”

Niall paused. “Why are you guys doing this?”

“Because we love you,” Zayn said simply. “Not in that way, of course, and we know that you love us, too, just-”

“Not in that way,” Niall finished. He sighed. “It’s just… It’s just so much to deal with.”

“We know,” Louis said. “But we’re here for you, Ni. And I know how you feel. Hell, we all do. The whole ‘figuring yourself out’ thing is scary. And tough. And we know you don’t have your family to depend on, but you absolutely have us.”

Niall smiled. “Yeah, I really do, don’t I?”

“Yup,” Harry replied. “So let’s get this party started. Cupcake?”

“Before dinner? How scandalous!”

They had one cupcake each before sitting down on the couch to watch the soccer highlights.

“Hang on, let me grab some beers,” Niall said, hopping up. “You said Liam’s coming?”

“Yeah, should be here in a minute,” Zayn answered.

“OK.”

Niall walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle opener from the drawer next to the stove. Then he went into the fridge and pulled out five glass bottles. He started to uncap them, and thought about his friends, about what they had just done for him.

He didn’t think it was possible for his friends to get any better, but of course, they had to pull this on him.

When he was younger, his mom had always told him to surround himself with people who would love him for him and who would support him. He hadn’t realized just how good of a job he’d done.

Niall finished uncapping the beer bottles when he heard Zayn yell, “Ni, Liam’s here!”

“OK!” Niall called back. He tossed the bottle caps in the recycling bin, took three bottles in one hand and two in another and headed into the living room.

He stopped for just a minute to admire his friends, the four people who had gotten him through pretty much everything in life, from elementary school to now. He honestly couldn’t have asked for a better group of people.

With a smile, he took a step forward, but nearly dropped the bottles in his hand when he felt a warm, heavy sensation in his chest, right near his heart.

He heard the gasps of his friends, and knew they were feeling it, too, but he couldn’t figure out  _why._

“We all just felt that, right?” Harry asked, clutching at his chest.

“I think we did,” Zayn said. “But why?”

“Are we all defective?” Louis asked.

“No!” the other four all told him in unison.

“So what’s going on? Wasn’t that a-?”

“It was,” Niall said. “But, I don’t get it. Why would  _I_ feel it? Why would we all feel it?”

The five of them stared at each other, confusion clearly written on their faces.

“Um,” Harry finally said. “I think I might know?”

“You know why all five of us just got a soulmate feeling?” Zayn asked curiously.

“I might.”

“What is it, babe?” Louis asked.

“Well…” Harry looked at Niall then. “Niall, you’re aro. So you don’t feel any kind of romantic love for people, right?”

Niall nodded slowly. “Right…”

“But you can love other people? Just not  _that_ way?”

“Yeah…”

“So, and I don’t say this to be an asshole,” Harry said, “but your family’s been shit over the years and like, we’re your best friends, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“So maybe, since you don’t feel romantic love, but you feel platonic love, maybe the four of us are your soulmates?”

Harry finished his thought like a question, but the boys were all considering it.

“Shit, that makes a lot of sense,” Zayn said.

“And, not to sound conceited or anything,” Liam started, “but Niall, maybe the reason you never felt it before, even when you were living with these guys was because I wasn’t here yet? And it had to be all four of us before you felt it?”

“Not to sound conceited or anything,” Louis said with a laugh.

Harry nudged Louis with his shoulder, but still smiled fondly.

“So… you guys are my soulmates?” Niall asked slowly.

“Looks like it, man,” Zayn said.

“Is that OK with you, Ni?” Harry asked carefully.

A smile started to spread across Niall’s face. “Of course it is! I didn’t- I didn’t think I would actually get to have a soulmate, so to have it be you guys… Shit.”

Tears started to form and Niall had to quickly put the beer bottles he still held on the coffee table so he could wipe his eyes.

Zayn was the first to go over, pulling Niall into a tight hug. The rest followed.

“I love you guys,” Niall said softly.

“Love you, too, Ni,” he heard echoed back to him. And finally, it felt like the part of him that he’d thought was missing, really wasn’t missing after all.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it! How was the ending? Too sappy? If you liked it, leave me a Kudos/Comment! And if there's anything wrong with how I characterized any of the boys, please tell me!  
> <3
> 
> If you liked it, you can reblog the post [here](http://flamboyantommo.tumblr.com/post/173897428982)! 
> 
> Hit me up on [twitter](http://twitter.com/angelique_lee) or [tumblr](http://www.flamboyantommo.tumblr.com/) if you feel like it! If you follow me on either, let me know who you are so I definitely follow you back!


End file.
